


Titles

by legolifesaver



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Bullying, F/M, Fire Nation Royal Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Other, Teen Angst, Teenage Parents, paparazzi can be mean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-07-17 22:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19964296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legolifesaver/pseuds/legolifesaver
Summary: Izumi has a lot of titles in her life, she held some of them with pride, while others weighed her down.





	1. Princess

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yall! Ive been craving some fire nation royal family content lately so i figured id do a fic about the life of izumi. enjoy!  
> also, while there will be some sexual situations that are implied in future chapters, there will be nothing graphic.

For a long time, the word "Princess" didn't bear any weight for Izumi. She didn't understand the political and social influence that came with being a princess, nor did the word make her feel special and important. "Princess" was just the word that the kind guards and sages called her, accompanied with a bow. For the first few years of her life, "Princess" may as well have been another nickname, like when her father called her "turtleduck". She would trot around the garden with her mother while the court officials, generals, and diplomats that passed through the palace on any given day would stop what they were doing to bow at Izumi and her mother. 

"Hello Lady Mai, Princess Izumi." They would always say. Izumi wondered if "Princess" was just something you called people you didn't know very well. She tested this out herself once, at the age of 5, when an esteemed Fire Nation general met her for the first time. 

"Nice to meet you, Princess Izumi." He said with a respectable bow. She mirrored the gesture, "Nice to meet  _ you,  _ Princess General Bunji." She didn't understand at the time why her father's face got so red, or why her mother and the general both started laughing, but she figured she did something right. 

* * *

"Princess". however, became much more problematic for her when she entered school. She went to a private academy with lots of other girls and boys of high social class, many of them had even come over to the palace for playdates in the past. But school, and the word "Princess" had quickly made her feel alien. Izumi dreaded role call in the morning. 

"Haruki?"

"Present."

"Guang?"

"Present."

"Lee?"

"Present."

"PRINCESS Izumi?"

Izumi hated it. She hated having that special word tacked onto her name. She had even asked the teacher to just drop the honorific before.

"My apologies, Princess Izumi, but I must obey tradition." Izumi thought that was a stupid excuse, but didn't argue.

The worst part though, was when the teacher started scolding students that didn't call her "Princess Izumi". This drove the other kids away, they didn't want to talk to someone who was wrapped in formality like a cocoon. They feared her, she a presence to be appreciated, not a person to interact with. The word princess was a wall protecting something that didn't need protection in the first place. 

When she was 11, there were elections for class leaders. A boy and a girl would be chosen by popular vote and would have a say in things like entertainment for the school dances and places for end of year field trips. Izumi worked for days on campaign speech. She practiced at home in front of anyone who she could trap for 5 minutes. When it was finally time to give the speech in front of the class, she stood up straight, shoulders back, and delivered an impassioned address about the importance of being a leader  _ for  _ and not  _ of _ the people.  _ I so got this vote _ . She thought once she was finished. 

Her only other competition was a girl named Luli. Her speech was filled with a lot of mutterings and pauses, no one could really what she said, something about teamwork maybe? 

When the time came for the teacher to read out the election results, Izumi was buzzing with excitement. Becoming class leader would be her chance to finally show her classmates that she was  _ one of them _ . 

"The boy elected as co-class leader is…Lee!" The boy shot up from his seat to receive the bright red sash, indicating his new status. The entire class clapped for him, and some of Lee's friends whooped and hollered from the back of the room. 

"Alright class, settle down." The teacher ordered. "Now, the girl elected as co-class leader is…"

_ C'mon. Just say it, _ Izumi screamed in her head, bracing herself to stand up the second her name got called. She didn't even care about getting called Princess Izumi at that point, she wanted that sash. 

"Luli!" The class clapped and cheered even louder than the first time, except for Izumi, who slumped back in her seat dumbfounded as to how she could have lost. 

As school was dismissed for the day, Izumi ran after two girls who she still considered her friends. "Hana! Madoka! Wait up!" She said. The two girls stopped and turned to her. 

"Hey guys, do you know why people voted for Luli instead of me? I mean, no one could even understand her during her speech!" 

Hana and Madoka both shared a look, each of them urging the other to be the one to answer. Madoka seemed to be one who lost this silent debate. "Well, Izumi- Princess Izumi." she didn't look Izumi in the eyes, "We all just thought it would be unfair. I mean you're already a princess, it just didn't seem fair to give you class leader on top of that."

The two girls rushed off before Izumi could reply. She stood there on the verge of tears until a palace guard approached her to escort her home. She held herself together the entire ride there, and held herself together as she stomped into the palace, ignoring her parents, and even held herself together as she stormed down the hallway. However, the moment she slammed her bedchamber door, she slid onto the floor and allowed herself to finally break down. Clutching her knees into her chest, she cried as hard as she could, not caring if the entire Fire Nation capital could hear her. 

Izumi finally felt the weight of the word "Princess", and it felt lonely. 


	2. Mai's Daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! comments and kudos are always welcome!

_"She's just like her mother."_

Zuko was the first person to ever say that about Izumi. She was moments old, and Zuko was pleasantly surprised with how much his daughter took after his wife. Zuko hoped that Izumi would grow up to be as strong as her mother, too. "She's just like her mother" was nothing short of praise coming from him.

According to others, though, being her "mother's daughter" was the one character flaw of Izumi. They misread her calmness as coldness. They thought Izumi lacked passion, when the reality was, she just had patience. A collected demeanor wasn't a trademark of the royal family, the people were used to the signature emotional sensitivity of fire lords past. To anyone who didn't bother to truly know Izumi, she was apathetic, aloof, and _too much like her mother_. 

Mai didn't let this sting her. She didn't care, because she knew they were wrong. She prided herself in the fact that she managed to raise such a gentle child. Who cares if people were used to emotionally unstable royals? 

Izumi _loved_ being like her mother, she never saw it as a bad thing. Her mother was beautiful, strong, and intelligent. She couldn't think of a better woman to look up to. 

* * *

_She takes after her mother_ was also said in pity by court officials when it became clear that Izumi was a nonbender. Suddenly, her existence to them became something unfortunate, having the nerve to say "I'm deeply sorry about Princess Izumi's… shortcomings." or "Have you considered trying for another?" to Zuko's face. 

Izumi didn't need bending, though. Not when her mother showed her to how throw knives, or when her father handed down his dual dao swords. Even Uncle Sokka showed her the ways of the boomerang when he visited the palace.

Knife training became a huge comfort for Izumi. She didn't feel unworthy, she felt powerful. She knew a skill that many people did not, and it wasn't something she was born with, she worked for it, she _earned_ it. She didn't need firebending to be fire lord one day, she had her own fire, whether people saw it or not. 

Zuko was thrilled at how talented his daughter was with knives, and he always reminded her of that. Although, he wasn't the biggest fan of being used for target practice. 

"Why can't you just use a training dummy?" Zuko said as he yanked at the knife that pinned his sleeve to the wall. 

"Because," the 13 year old crossed her arms. "Training dummies don't try to run away." 

* * *

Mai smiled whenever she found new blade marks on the walls, or noticed dents in the armour of some poor young guard. Izumi seemed to take a more literal approach to "Leaving her mark on the world." And while it made her angry to know that people saw Izumi's existence as a disappointment to the royal lineage, but Izumi would prove them wrong in due time. Izumi was her mother's daughter, undoubtedly, and that was one of the best things about her. 


	3. Sneaky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! This chapter is a bit different from the other ones but i felt it necessary for world building and character building. i hope you enjoy!

Izumi met Kavan during one of her "undercover trips to the city" that were very much unallowed. These trips weren't hard to orchestrate, Izumi would tell her parents that she "felt fatigued" and that she was going to lay down in her room for a few hours. Then, she would tip off the guards, put on commoner clothes, put on a hooded cloak, and snuck out through her window. Izumi had a feeling that her mother knew about these unauthorized trips, but if she did, she never said anything.

She liked these trips. She had visited the capital city countless times during festivals and other events, but those were always too formal, and there was always a distance to be kept between her and the common folk. When she snuck out incognito though, people treated her the way they would treat any other fellow citizen, good and bad. It was during these trips that she felt truly connected to her people. 

The 14 year-old wandered down a marketplace, filled with delicious smelling food stalls, artists selling jewelry and calligraphy, and street performers. 

"Young lady! Try some fried squid?"

"Some sun-cakes, miss?" 

"This necklace would compliment your eyes!"

Various merchants called after her, but nothing seemed to interest her at the moment. So she walked around, watching kids chase each other with wooden swords, young women dancing together near a musician, and older couples bickering. As her eyes wandered, she failed to notice the crack in the concrete, tripped, fell hard onto...something. However, it didn't take long for Izumi that this  _ something _ was a  _ someone _ . 

"Oh my spirits! I am so sorry!" Izumi said, scrambling back up to her feet. She offered a hand to the other person. When he stood, Izumi was able to get a real,  _ real _ , close look at him. He couldn't have been much older than Izumi herself was, but he was a lot taller. He had deep tanned skin, dark brown hair, amber eyes, and  _ dimples _ . Why is that the one time she manages to run into a cute boy, she has to  _ literally _ run into him? 

"It's okay. I mean, it was an accident. And I'm used to girls throwing themselves at me." 

Izumi rolled her eyes. "Really?"

"Bad first line?"

"Bad first line."

"Well," The boy said. "I guess we're even on the bad first impressions. Let's start over. I'm Kavan." He stuck out his hand to shake.

Izumi took it. "I'm Jun." She said. Jun was the name she used for these outings, it was simple, common, and detached from anything royal. "Well, Kavan," She said. "I still want to apologize, again, for falling on you. How about I make it up to you somehow?" 

Kavan raised one of his stupidly thick eyebrows. "How so?" 

"Well I could buy you something to eat, it's almost lunchtime. Your choice, of course." Izumi tilted her head down slightly, certain that if she made anymore eye contact with this handsome stranger she'd scream. 

"Do you like Komodo Rhino?" 

* * *

The two of them found a bench where they could sit down and enjoy their meal as well as each other's company. 

"Thank you, by the way." Kavan said around a mouthful of skewered komodo rhino meat. 

"It's no problem, really." Izumi said. Kavan shifted in his seat, so he could face her more directly. Izumi avoided eye contact with him again, and instead marveled at a street performer juggling swords. She needed to learn that. 

"So, miss Jun, can I ask where you're from? I don't think I've ever seen you before. And I'm pretty sure I'd remember a face like yours." 

_ Fuck _ . "I, um, I'm from the outskirts of the capital, outside of the main city, and I don't get to come here often." Kavan nodded. 

"Well, then we're opposites! I was born in the city and I, uh, never left!" 

"You never traveled?" Izumi asked. 

"Nah, I want to, though. I want to see the whole world for what it is, one day." Kavan's eyes lit up as he spoke. "In two years, once I'm 17, I'm going to join the United Forces. Have you ever heard if those guys? They get to travel the whole world!" 

Izumi allowed herself to look directly at him. He smiled as he spoke, there was a fire in his cadence. Her cheeks felt warm. 

"I have. My friend Bumi enlisted last year, I think he's in the Northern Water Tribe right now." 

Kavan perked up even more. "That's awesome! Maybe I'll run into him one day." There was a pause as he tried to search for something else to say. "So, Jun...what about you?"

"What about me?"

"What do you want to do in the future?" 

Izumi shrugged. "I don't know, maybe politics?" Kavan nudged her with his elbow. "You'd be great at that. You're smart." 

She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "You think so?" 

"Yeah."

The two sat in a comfortable silence, the midday sun starting to dim with clouds in the late-afternoon. Kavan slid over closer to her. 

"I know this is going to sound weird, but I'm very glad you knocked me onto the sidewalk." His face was only a few inches away from her now. 

"Likewise." Izumi thought about closing that gap. Kissing a cute boy she just met. Being wild. She's only kissed 2 boys before. One was a general's son who she met at a party when she was 9. And the other was Bumi. So she didn't consider either of those as "real kisses". What if her and Kavan kissed right now, would he like it? Would she like it? What if-

"Princess Izumi!" 

_ Shit. Shit. Shit.  _

Izumi turned her head to see around a dozen Royal Guards and her father march up to her and Kavan. 

"Izumi, who is this?" Her father said, pointing to her new friend. 

Kavan turned to her. "You're a princess? You're  _ the _ princess?" 

"Dad, don't worry. Kavan's just a friend, he's nice, and  _ harmless _ ." Izumi directed that last statement at two of the guards, who lowered the spears they pointed at Kavan.

"And yes, Kavan, I am. And I'm sorry I lied. I was hoping you would find out in a less...violent way." Izumi hid her face, worried that he was going to be upset with her for lying about who she was. 

"I mean, you already surprised me once today, one more time doesn't hurt." He said. She turned to him. He continued. "And besides, you were a really great actor! I couldn't have pulled off the whole fake-name thing as well as you did." Izumi shrugged. 

"Well, I'm not the only thespian in the family. My grandmother did theatre for many years-" 

"Izumi can we please cut this short?" Her father said. A crowd of people had already swarmed around them. Peering past the guards to see what the Fire Lord was doing on his impromptu trip to the city. 

Izumi stood, and Kavan stood next to her. He bowed to the Fire Lord. 

"Fire Lord Zuko, I am very, very sorry. I didn't intend any disrespect towards you or Ju- uh, Princess Izumi." Zuko clapped a hand on his shoulder. 

"It's alright. You seem like a good kid. Thank you for, um,  _ not _ murdering my daughter." Kavan couldn't say anything in response, so he just nodded. 

"Izumi, I think it's time to say goodbye to your friend. Your mother and I need to have a long discussion with you about this." Izumi pouted, but didn't try to challenge him. 

"Goodbye, Princess." Kavan gave her an overly-dramatic bow. 

"Goodbye, Kavan." Izumi mimicked the bow. 

"Permission to hug you, Your Highness?" Kavan asked.

"Permission granted." She pulled him into a hug. After the hug seemed to linger a bit too long, and she heard her father loudly clear his throat. The two pulled apart. 

"Write to me!" Izumi said, waving to Kavan as she began to walk away with her father and the group of guards. Kavan waved back at her. "I will!"

* * *

Later that day, while her father was ranting about how he "isn't angry at Izumi, he's just angry at her actions.", her mother nudged her. "So, tell me more about this boy?"


	4. Girlfriend Pt 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! this took longer than expected, but ill have the next part put sooner! thank you for all the traffic this fic has gotten so far, i appreciate it!

Two weeks after their initial meeting, Izumi asked her parents if Kavan could come over for dinner. She felt somewhat anxious leading up to this, because to her, the idea of Kavan having dinner with her parents felt like it was important but she didn't really know why. It went well, Kavan and Zuko found that they shared a nerdy passion for "proper sword etiquette", meanwhile Mai liked Kavan for being one of the few people outside of the family that could appreciate her dry humour. Izumi felt tense the entire time, hoping that Kavan didn't say or do anything that would make her parents dislike him. But that never happened. 

"Kavan, feel free to come by the palace more often. I've started a bit of a collection of ancient jian swords that-" Mai cut Zuko off before he went into another sword ramble. 

"We'd love to have you over, anytime. I can see why Izumi talks about you so much." She said.

Izumi buried her face into her hands, hiding her scarlet cheeks. Despite being a nonbender, she was certain that smoke was coming out of her ears. 

* * *

They had been talking for about a month now. Izumi couldn't tell if Kavan _liked_ her liked her, or if he was just a really friendly person. He was always asking Izumi about her life, about what she liked, and how her day was. And Izumi did the same, she wanted to get to know him as much as possible. When the two hung out, with no one else around, Izumi would end up resting her head on his shoulder, while Kavan put his arm around hers. 

_But friends do that, right?_

Kavan's letters started to become more decorative, he would add his best attempts at drawing turtleducks in the margins, and started putting a shakily drawn heart next to his signature. Izumi would stare at these little doodles for a while after reading the letters. She wondered if they contained some hidden meaning, like ancient writings, about his feelings for her. She always found a way to brush them off, though. She liked turtleducks, and hearts are always nice, so it wouldn't be weird for a friend to put those in a letter to her, right?.

"This boy likes you." Kya said. Izumi had visited her on Air Temple Island, and Kya had insisted on getting all the details about this new boy Izumi mentioned to her. Izumi never talks about boys, so he must be special. "You think?" Izumi asked. She _wanted_ Kavan to like her, but there was no way that he-

"I love you, Zoom, but you're not exactly the brightest when it comes to romantic endeavors." Kya reached across the table and patted her friend's hand. "It's okay, though, cause you have me to help you figure this all out!" The two girls shared a smiled. Kya was right, Izumi couldn't blame her for that. Izumi knew she wasn't the best at navigating things. Relationships, as much as she wanted them, were always confusing for her, and was glad to have Kya. 

Kya took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote something down on it. "Here," she said, sliding it over to Izumi. "Tell him this." 

_Dear Kavan,_

_Fire Nation is Red_

_Water Tribe is Blue_

_You have a nice butt_

_And I want to go out with you_. 

_-xoxo Izzie_

"Ew! I can't tell him that!" Izumi crumbled the sheet of paper up and threw it at Kya. 

"You have any better ideas?' Kya crossed her arms and Izumi slumped over the table. 

"Boys are complicated. Are girls any better?" She asked. 

"Actually, I think girls are a lot more confusing, they're just prettier." 

* * *

"I'm glad your parents are letting you venture out into the city more. I like being able to spend some alone time with you." Kavan said. The two walked down a large sidewalk in the industrial district.

Izumi pointed to the three royal guards behind them. "We're not exactly alone." The guards kept a respectable distance, but still loomed too close to ignore. 

"Well, it's the thought that counts." He said. She felt the tips of his fingers brush against hers. "Izumi can I ask you something?" Kavan raised an eyebrow. 

"Sure!" Izumi said, immediately regretting her over-enthusiasm. 

"Have you…uh," He hesitated, red crept onto his cheeks. "Have you ever watched the sunset from the harbour? It's the best view in the capital." 

"I haven't actually, would you like to show me?" Izumi felt bold. 

One of the guards, Guo, cleared his throat. "His majesty has requested that the princess be home _before_ sunset." 

Izumi huffed, but then turned swiftly to Guo. She was 14, dammit, she _deserved_ a cheesy sunset moment with her crush. "Well her highness would like to let his majesty know that the princess will be home _after_ sunset." 

Another guard, Hui, nudged him. "Would you care to deliver that message to the Fire Lord?" She smirked. Guo scowled at Hui before turning on his heels, promptly heading in the direction of the caldera. 

Fire Nation sunsets were truly unique. A collage of blues, oranges, and purples. She'd watch this sunset from the gardens in the royal plaza before, but never so close the Fire Nation shore. There were hardly any people out on the docks, save for a few fisherman finishing a days work. She couldn't imagine why people didn't flock here every evening to watch the sun dip under the horizon. 

"It's so beautiful." She said. 

"You know what's even more beautiful?" Kavan asked. Izumi rolled her eyes at him.

"If the answer is 'me' I'm going to push you right off of this dock!" Kavan chuckled at her. 

"Fine! The answer isn't 'you'. The answer is: a very snarky Fire Nation princess." 

"So my Aunt Azula?" 

The two teenagers bursted out laughing, shattering the still silence of the surrounding environment. After a moment, they quieted down, and caught each other's eyes, still smiling. 

So she did it. Izumi kissed him, and he kissed her back. Neither of them knew what to do with their hands, but it didn't matter. 

The sun had finally settled, and one of the guards loudly cleared their throat. The two young lovers broke apart, just now noticing how dark it had gotten.

"I guess I need to go home now." Izumi said. The two got to their feet. Kavan, with a smirk on his lips, gave her a traditional Fire Nation bow. "It was a pleasure spending time with you, Princess." She bowed back at him. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Kavan." They both smiled at each other again before Izumi joined her escort of guards. Hui couldn't hide the knowing smile she gave the princess.

When Izumi finally made it into the palace, her father and mother were waiting for her in the drawing room. 

"Did you have fun, Izzie?" Her mom's voice stopped her from bolting off to her room. Izumi stopped in her tracks. 

"Uh, yeah, I guess I had fun." She said quickly. 

Her father quirked an eyebrow. "Anything interesting happen?" Izumi shook her head. 

"No, nothing interesting! Just a nice, normal night with Kavan." She said, adding in a quick "goodnight" as she turned in the direction of her chambers. 

"Is your boyfriend still coming over for tea next week?" Her mother teased at her as Izumi scurried down the hall, red-faced. 


End file.
